Seebright

This day was coming, but I never expected it to arrive this fast. With Sony’s big reveal of Project Morpheus, its virtual reality headset, and the news that Facebook was buying Oculus for $2 billion, the technology now appears at the edges of the mainstream. For those who saw The Lawnmower Man and tried the tech soon after, the VR headsets today aren’t the clunky devices that users jam onto their faces.

Oculus VR and Sony have made strides in the field, using motion-sensing chips and higher-resolution displays to put people inside of worlds. Their respective VR headsets — the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus — immerse the users more deeply than ever before. They could be what brings games to the next level, and it makes sense to go in this direction. Consoles are quickly losing their advantage to mobile. Each year, tablets and smartphones close the gap in terms of computational and visual horsepower. To give players an experience they can’t get anywhere else, game companies have to turn to virtual reality.

But the biggest challenge is getting mainstream consumers to buy into the idea of strapping on a pricey gadget on their head. It’s a problem that Hollywood faced with bringing 3D television sets to the living room after initial success in the theater. If VR turns out to be a passing fad, traditional game companies could be in trouble, but if it catches on, the device could be the disruptive technology that Sony claims it to be. It could be the next iPhone-type device. Consumers will have to try it out first themselves. I checked out both Sony’s Project Morpheus and the Oculus Rift. In addition, I tried out other VR-related gadgets. Here are my thoughts on each one: